Recap

Michael Chandler vs. Akihiro Gono: You set ‘em up, he’ll knock ‘em down. In what was basically a gimme fight for Chandler, the champ nailed Gono with a straight right, dove in and laid down some ground and pound, and picked up his 10th win with the stoppage coming at 0:56 of the first round.

Ben Saunders vs. Bryan Baker: This fight got off to an explosive start. As always, ‘Killa B’ got to where he wanted by using his striking to work some unorthodox submissions. Switching from flying triangles to omaplatas to kimuras, Saunders was everywhere. Baker looked for takedowns constantly, and landed some solid strikes, but Saunders arguably took the first. Baker was visibly slower in the second round, but his striking looked more crisp, and less rushed. The second round degenerated into a brutal slugfest, with Ben getting the better of the strikes, but he found himself on the bottom as it came to an end. In the third, it was all Bryan Baker. He took Saunders down repeatedly, and dominated in top control for the full five minutes. In the end, the judges gave the nod to Bryan Baker with scores of 29-28, 30-27, and 30-27.

Damian Grabowski vs. Dave Huckaba: This was a perfect example of ‘HEAVYWEIGHT MMA!!!’, that is to say, it was slow, long, and everyone, including the crowd, gassed within five minutes. Through all three rounds, it was Grabowski who dominated. Huckaba was just seemingly unable to pull the trigger, and found himself on his back over and over again. While the grappler was unable to finish the striker, he dominated. In the third, Huckaba started to mount a comeback, but it was all for naught, as judges delivered scores of 29-28 in favor of the Polish fighter.

Ryan Ford vs. Luis Santos: What a fight. The Canadian Ryan Ford went toe to toe with Santos, but found himself on the wrong end of a headkick, and took quite the beating for his troubles. While he managed to survive through the first, things looked bad for Ford. In the second, Ford was clearly making adjustments, but still not having much luck, until he landed a huge knee, which dropped Santos, and swarmed on him with hammerfists, prompting the ref to step in at 1:24 of the second round.

Matt Veal vs. Will Romero: In the final fight of the evening, the two Canadians went out there to put on a show. With a first round full of all aspects of MMA, it appeared as though Veal was on top after one. Through the second frame, both men tried hard to finish, and Veal hurt Romero badly with a superman punch, and nearly finished him, but as Romero recovered, he landed a knee to the jaw of Veal, and swarmed on him with knees and punches against the cage, prompting the stoppage at 4:25 of round 2.

David Harris vs. Nick Kirk: In the first bout following the televised brodcast, David Harris and Nick Kirk had a hell of a fight. While Kirk was often in control, especially on the ground, the two went at it for the first two, before a headkick at the bell in the second nearly ended the night for Kirk. A more tentative looking Kirk came out for the third round, and there was hardly any activity throughout the final frame. In the end, the judges scored the bout 29-28, 29-28, and 29-28 for David “Bo” Harris.

Cosmo Alexander vs. Lorawnt-T Nelson: This fight was basically target practice for Cosmo. The Muay thai specialist tore his opponent apart from opening to closing bell in all three rounds, with devastating leg kicks, knees, and solid punches, Nelson paid the price, big time. After 15 solid minutes of one-sided dominance, the scores came through with 30-27’s across the board for Cosmo Alexander.

Nordine Taleb vs. Matt MacGrath: Nordine Taleb is a bad, bad man. After a less than exciting Bellator debut last month, the French striker wanted an opponent that would engage him, and give him an exciting bout, and that’s what he got. In the first, Taleb hurt MacGrath several times with jabs, straight punches, and solid body kicks that could be heard in Prince Edward Island. The second round was considerably closer, with MacGrath even getting some solid strikes in. When hurt with a solid jab, MacGrath shot for a takedown, was stuffed, and ate several dozen shots on the ground. When unable to defend himself, the referee stepped in, with the stoppage coming at 2:30 of the second round.

Nathan Gunn vs. Dom O’Grady: A wild fight opened the preliminary card. In the first round, O’Grady and Gunn went toe to toe in the most violent of ways, brawling with blatant disregard for their safety. Gunn suffered a deep cut on his eyelid, but persevered, and arguable won the first. In the second, it was all Gunn, as he took control, blasted his opponent with ground and pound, but found himself in a sloppy triangle choke. As the round came to a close, Gunn was all but guaranteed to survive, but gave up his arm, and verbally submitted to a tight armbar at 4:51.